A storm is rolling through the region, bringing cold and snowy conditions.
Keep storm day fever from luring you out into bigger terrain features.
Storm slabs will be developing with ongoing precipitations Thursday night into mid-day Friday. They are likely to be increasingly reactive as the storm progresses. Rider-triggerable avalanches will be likely, especially on lees of features and convex terrain.
The likelihood of avalanches will increase with the arrival of the storm. We are expecting natural activity at upper elevations during the night, Thursday. Rider-triggers avalanches will remain likely immediately after the storm.
If you head out in the backcountry, consider sharing your observations with us on the Mountain Information Network!
Before the storm, surfaces were variable according to aspects and elevations. On northerly aspects above 1000 m, surface hoar has grown in sheltered areas and low-density snow can still be found. On southerly aspects and below 1000 m, a moist or crusty surface has likely formed. Last week's storm left 15-30 cm of snow, with wind loading mostly isolated to immediate lees of ridgetop. This snow appears to be bonding well to underlying surfaces, including melt-freeze crusts and hard widn affected surfaces.
The middle of the snowpack is strong and bonded. At the bottom of the snowpack, a layer of weak facets remains present and continues to be monitored for signs of reactivity.
Wet, warm & windy conditions are expected to ease on Friday. Another system will bring ongoing heavy precipitations for the weekend.
Thursday night
Snow. Local amount 20-30 cm. Moderate southwest wind gusting 60 km/h. Alpine low -2 °C. Freezing level rises to 1500 m.
Friday
Flurries ending in the morning. Cloudy. Moderate southwest wind gusting 40 km/h. Alpine high -4 °C. Freezing level around 1400 m.
Saturday
Snow. Local amount 15-20 cm. Moderate southerly wind gusting 50 km/h. Alpine low -2 °C. Freezing level around 1500 m.
Sunday
Snow. Local amount 30-40 cm. Moderate southerly wind gusting 50 km/h. Alpine low -2 °C. Freezing level around 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
